RetroShopper

[Kestonian]

I don't understand. Why not have one's butler carry the load?

 

[kaiser]

Chris thats similar but no the same to pauls flatbed



http://www.paulcomp.com/flatbed.html

 

[hamster]

are lowriders the ones that are like panniers for the front ? never liked those , bike must handle like shit with those

You need to load the bike carefully. My 1990 Marin Palisades is steady as a rock at over 40mph with 4 panniers and a barbag. And it has drops.

Lowriders are waay better than top racks on the front. The higher the load, the more steering flop you get, which is why the posties' bikes mount the rack onto the frame so it cannot turn.

But lowriders are hopeless in rocky offroad for obvious reasons. Then again, riding with 20kg of luggage offroad is a bit of a non-starter anyway.

 

[barry2017]

But lowriders are hopeless in rocky offroad for obvious reasons. Then again, riding with 20kg of luggage offroad is a bit of a non-starter anyway.

Never stopped me!

I don't have a car, and I'm usually living a long way away from road access. Currently, I'm half a mile down a track that's so rutted rear panniers ground out, let alone front ones. And until I finish the electrical work on the boat, it's stuck there but not so much of a hair shirt, I have mains there!.

It would shock you the things I've taken down there on my touring bike, and how much easier it would have been by comparison to carrying it. In fact, I get a kick out of carrying improbable things on the bike, it makes it feel useful and me rather smug - perhaps this is why my ex-girlfriend used to call me the eco-tw*t . The really memorable time was riding home with a 50kg sack of potatoes, because they were going really cheap at the farmer's market, but of course there's been lots of others too.

You can argue that front panniers make for a more stable bike and that's true, but they have to be so small they're not useful for most of the things I'd want to carry.

I dislike lowriders is the same reason I don't like trailers. Trailer manufacturers say the beauty of a trailer is you only take it with you when you need it. But what if you see something when you're out and want to take it home with you? Where's the trailer then?

Far better to have a bike that can take everything you want to carry without your having to think about it.

So as far as I'm concerned, lowriders for anything other than road based touring with specialised, planned loads are rubbish. Where's the fun in that?

And as for long bikes, I think they're probably the best solution, but I don't really have the room for one. I might bite in the future though, I really like the Xtracycle.

Kaiser, that's a nice rack. I'd like it to be able to carry more weight though, and mount in more places. Plus, if it had a flatbed, you could lash things across it rather than over it..

I really think I could design some great solutions for utility cycling, as you can probably guess I've put some thought into it!

 

[hamster]

The Iditabike guys used saddle bags and stuff mounted onto the handlebars to keep ground clearance as good as possible for snow. I think that's the optimum for serious off-road.

As Chris says, it's amazing what can be carried if you are determined. You only have to see what people move by bike in the developing world to see that.
The best bike for that kind of work is a black Chinese bike. Aid agencies tried MTBs in Africa, and went back to Chinese bikes because they were indestructible.

 

[barry2017]

The MTB is far nicer to use, it's just that the parts are a bit too delicate. It's like going offroad on a rally car when you need a tractor.
I honestly believe a mountain bike with very low maintenance parts would be a great solution. The threads by Geoff Apps have been very interesting.
Bike designers, are you listening?

 

[hamster]

I think that's where we get back into the world of singlespeeds!

 

[barry2017]

I like my singlespeed, but I reckon hub gears are the way to go.
The strengthened agricultural Flying Pidgeons are all singlespeed though.

 

[tintin40]

http://gizmodo.com/5231252/bike-handlebars-with-built+in-basket

Add ribbons and glitter to taste.

deffo one for the girls

 

[kaiser]

chris?


http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59029&highlight=